Nailable metal door post and door combination



Sept. 4, 1962 BRUN'NG 3,052,292

NAILABLE METAL DOOR POST AND DOOR COMBINATION Filed July 27. 1959 IN V EN TOR. WILL MI) E. 87E (Mm/6. BYQ Mo 7' United States Patent Ofiice 3,652,292 Patented Sept. 4, 1962 3,052,292 NAILABLE METAL DOOR POST AND DOOR COMBINATION William E. Bruning, Omaha, Nehru, assignor, by mesne assignments, of one-half to International Paper Company, New Yorlr. N.Y., a corporation of New York, and one-half to The Stanley Works, New Britain, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Filed July 27, 1959, Ser. No. 829,643 3 Claims. (Cl. 160368) This invention relates to a nailable metal door post and door combination. The invention is particularly useful in connection with a freight vehicle having a door opening equipped with a temporary door or other closure which is secured to the posts of the vehicle.

One of the serious problems confronting railroads having boxcars equipped with door posts adjacent the door openings, is the tendency for the wooden posts to split and break under repeated nailing operations involving the attachment of grain doors or other temporary closures across the door opening. Further, there is a weakness in the installations in that the nails may not be securely held in the posts and sometimes valuable material is lost through the weakening of the door supports.

An object of the present invention is to provide nailable metal door posts for boxcars and other freight vehicles which are so constructed as to insure secure nailing of the doors, etc. to posts, while at the same time permitting an unlimited number of nailing operations. A further object is to provide such posts with means for tensioning the straps or other supporting means for the doors so that the doors are secured in taut relation across the door openings. Yet another object is to provide means which automatically clinch the nails against removal when they are driven into the post nail passages. Other specific objects and advantages will appear as the specification proceeds.

The invention is shown, in an illustrative embodiment, by the accompanying drawing, in which FIG. 1 is a broken perspective view of the interior of a boxcar equipped with door posts embodying my invention and employed for the supporting of a grain door; FIG. 2, a detail sectional view, the section being taken as indicated at line 33 of FIG. 1; FIG. 3, a similar detail view, the section being taken as indicated at line 33 of FIG. 1; FIG. 4, a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing the nails in clinched position; FIG. 5, a broken front view in elevation of a modified form of door post embodying my invention; and FIG. 6, a transverse sectional view of the door post structure shown in FIG. 5.

In the illustration given in FIGS. l-4, inclusive, A designates a boxcar having a floor A and equipped with a grain door A The grain door A may be of any suitable type or construction. In the illustration given, there is a central door body Ill having secured thereto spaced metal straps 11, the straps 11 being apertured at 12 to receive nails. The door A is set forth merely as an illustration of a type of grain door which may be employed in the practice of my invention, and it will be understood that the door may be formed of reinforced paper, plastic, corrugated board, or any other suitable material. It is merely sufficient that the door body extend across and seal the door opening and be held in position by the use of straps or any other reinforcing means.

In the illustration given, 13 designates a left-hand door post, as viewed in FIG. 1, and 14 designates a right-hand door post, also as viewed in FIG. 1. The post 13, as shown best in FIGS. 2 and 4, is formed of steel, aluminum alloy, or any other suitable metal, and is provided at its inner side adjacent the door opening with a protruding shoulder or tensioning bar 15. Laterally spaced from the bar 15 are nail passages 16 adapted to receive the tensioning nails 17. The passages 16 are somewhat S-shaped so as to clinch the nails when they are driven into the metal block 13. In FIG. 1, the nails 17 are shown in their deformed and final clinched shape. It will be understood that in the final sealing operation the door body It} will be drawn effectively over the door post to form a tight seal with the door post and, if desired, the edges of the door body 10 may be sealed by additional flaps or any other sealing means.

While I have shown metal straps 11 aper-tured at 12 to receive the nails 17, it will be understood that any other tensioning strap means may be employed and, if desired, the door body 10 may itself be of a material which will receive the nails 17 so that upon the driving of the nails into the door block 13, as shown in FIG. 4, the edges of the door 10 are held securely against the block 13.

FIG. 3 shows the right hand post 14 with the nail passages 18 extending in an opposite inclination from those shown in FIG. 2, and the post also has a tensionin-g shoulder or bar 15.

In the modification shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the door post 19 is formed of hollow metal parts providing between them nail passages 20 which extend vertically of the length of the post, and the passages are also generally S-shaped, as shown best in FIG. 6. The hollow members constituting the post are welded to an outer plate member 21. The door body 10a, provided with apentured straps 11a, may be secured to the post 19 by nails 17 so that the door body Ill is drawn over and in tightly sealed relation with the door post when the nails are finally driven to their inner clinched position.

Operation In the operation of the structure described, the door 10 is erected and the supporting straps 11 thereon drawn laterally over the door posts 13 and 14. The straps may then be tensioned by driving the nails 17 in a slanting direction, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the outermost nail being preferably driven first and then the inner nails driven successively to produce the tensioning of the door, thus bringing the door body tightly over the post and in sealed relation therewith. The driving of the nails 17 into the tortuous nail passages 16 produces a deformation of the nails, as shown best in FIG. 4, so that they remain securely in position during the movement of the car. The nails may be later withdrawn by wedge tools engaging the headed portions of the nails, and the post may then be reused repeatedly for the securing of other temporary doors. The door posts may :be secured in position within the car as by welding the same to the metal casing of the car or by the use of bolts or any other suitable means.

While, in the foregoing specification, I have set forth a specific structure in considerable detail for the purpose of illustrating embodiments of the invention, it will be understood that such details of structure may be varied widely by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. In combination with a freight vehicle having a door opening, a pair of vertically-extending door posts defining said opening and on opposite sides thereof, a flexible paper-board door panel extending across said door opening in overlapping relation with said door posts, a plurality of horizontally-extending fiat metal straps on said panel, each of said posts comprising an elongated metal member presenting a generally flat nailing surface thereon interiorly of said vehicle and abutting said straps, a plurality of laterally spaced'apart, vertically-extending, nail-receiving openings extending into said member from said surface, a longitudinally-extending rib protruding interiorly of the vehicle from said surface and integral With said member, said rib being positioned along the side of said surface adjacent said opening, and nails extending through said straps into the openings of said members securing said straps to said posts and over said ribs.

2. In combination with a freight vehicle having a door opening, a pair of vertically-extending door posts defining said opening and on opposite sides thereof, a flexible paperboard door panel equipped with horizontallyex-tending reinforcing straps extending across said door opening in overlapping relation with said door posts, each of said posts comprising an elongated metal member presenting a generally flat nailing surface thereon in-teriorly of said vehicle and abutting said straps, a plurality of horizontally spaced-apart, nail-receiving openings extending into said member from said surface, a longitudinally-extending rib protruding interiorly of the vehicle from said surface and integral with said member, said rib being positioned along the side of said surface adjacent said opening, and nails extending through said straps into the openings of said members securing said straps to said posts and over said ribs, each of said nail openings including a tortuous passage extending into said member and operative to effect a multiple deformation of a nail inserted therein.

3. In combination with a freight vehicle having a door opening, a pair of vertically-extending door posts defining said opening and on opposite sides thereof, a flexible paperboard door panel extending across said opening in overlapping relation with said door posts, said panel (i, being equipped with vertically spaced-apart, horizontally-extending metal straps having end portions overlapping said posts, each of said posts comprising an elongated metal member equipped with a nailing surface extending generally parallel to the plane of the door opening and abutting said panel and straps, a plurality of laterally spaced-apart, vertically-extending nail passages extending into said member from said surface, a longitudinally-extending shoulder projecting interiorly of the vehicle from said surface and located along the longitudinal edge of said surface adjacent said opening, and nails extending through said straps into said passages operative to tension said straps over said shoulder, each of said passages having generally an S shape in proceeding inwardly from said surface, with said shape being arranged to initially incline toward said shoulder a nail being received therein.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,099,959 Wylie June 16, 1914 1,545,168 Schenck July 7, 1925 1,895,309 Boomershine Jan. 24, 1933 2,310,860 Moon Feb. 9, 1943 2,500,940 Fischer Mar. 21, 1950 2,667,243 .Fenske Jan. 26, 1954 2,727,595 Bel-tman Dec. 20, 1955 2,792,882 Snyder May 21, 1957 OTHER REFERENCES Modern Railroads, May 1959, pp. 26, 27. 

